What Is an Operating System?

Operating systems (OS) are a collection of integrated programs that manage computer resources and operations. The OS is inaccessible to the user, but it offers services that application programs can use to make hardware and software more efficient.

Access to data stored on disks is a fundamental function of the operating system. It requires the OS to have a method to organize the contents of each file to increase speed, reliability, and storage efficiency. This structure is called the file system. It allows files to be given names and attributes as well as to be organized into directories or folders forming the directory tree.

The majority image source myopendatablog.com/mastering-security-unveiling-the-magic-of-data-room-solutions/ of computers are equipped with a variety of hardware devices, including keyboards, printers, mice and various other peripherals. These devices rely on the driver software of the device to communicate with the operating system. The operating system installs and configures these drivers to provide the appropriate service to the applications. It also hides the hardware details to users, so that they can interact with the system without knowing about the detailed hardware configuration.

Process Management

An OS keeps all the programs running on the computer and decides the amount of time that should be allocated to each in a multitasking environment. It also handles interruptions that applications create to keep a processor’s focus and ensures that there enough memory available for an application to complete its work without interfering other processes.

Operating systems also perform other functions that are associated with the overall functioning of the computer for example, maintaining the primary memory that contains large word or byte arrays that each contain an address. The OS monitors how many of these bytes are utilized by various programs and can move, delete or rearrange them to free space.

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